A 25-year veteran of the Raleigh Police Department, Deck-Brown was one of three finalists in a nationwide search that drew in 48 applicants to replace former Chief Harry Dolan. He retired last year after leading the department for more than five years.

Deck-Brown worked her way up the ranks as a detective in 1994, sergeant in 1997, lieutenant in 2002, captain in 2003 and major in 2006, when she assumed leadership of the police department's Administrative Services Division.She was promoted to deputy chief in June 2011, after temporarily commanding daily operations of the department's Internal Affairs Unit and several other operations. "She came up through the ranks," Raleigh police Maj. Stacy Deans said. "She knows the personnel. We have shared goals."

Deck-Brown took over as head of the police department when Dolan retired Oct. 1, 2016